We need to promote the peaceful transition of power

Many people, including me, are displeased with the result of the 2016 presidential election. Liberals and anti-Trump voters have taken to the streets of New York City and other cities across the nation to protest this outcome they see so threatening. I believe that it’s time for activists to put an end to protests in response to the election result. Let me make something clear. I’m not saying to stop protesting period; in fact, I strongly encourage protests against hate. However, it’s time to face the unfortunate reality of Donald Trump as our next president in order to preserve a civil democracy.

Americans protesting Donald Trump’s win, not his history of hate, should consider two important ideas: the concept of the peaceful transition of power, and the fact that Trump has a tiny chance of getting booted from his appointment as president-elect.

It is crucial that Americans accept and abide by the aforementioned peaceful transfer of power. If we do not accept a new president and fail to support him or her, our country will not move forward. Even politicians on the left side of the political spectrum have voiced their support for this ideal. Speaking about the election outcome, Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “We have a responsibility to come together and find common ground. Only by recognizing and respecting the important contributions that all Americans make to our country’s success can we build an inclusive and stronger future for America.”

During his greatly anticipated post-election speech, President Barack Obama stated, “We are now all rooting for his [Donald Trump’s] success in uniting and leading the country.”

I wholeheartedly agree with these two politicians. Now that Mr. Trump is the president-elect, we need to support him in creating positive change. Sure, Trump has a significant history of sexist and racist comments, but that doesn’t mean we can deny his presidency. We are all Americans. To come together, we must be supportive.

It’s true that while many Hillary Clinton supporters have vowed to give Trump a chance, their open-mindedness has dissipated because of his Tweets surrounding ideas like the consequences of flag burning. While this is quite valid, some have suggested these Tweets come in response to flag burning protests in response to the election result at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. Thus, it would make sense that if people were less hostile towards the election outcome, contentious proposals like this could be avoided with a positive outlook on the future.

Additionally, there is virtually no chance that Donald Trump’s elected position will be revoked. One critic of the election result, Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, has called for a recount of votes in Michigan and Wisconsin, and has revoked her call for a recount in Pennsylvania. The chances of this recount actually having any effect on the election’s result are slim. While it may alter the popular vote, it will “almost certainly not” change the outcome of the election, as phrased by CNN Politics. Donald Trump won 306 electoral votes, while Hillary Clinton won 232. The only way to change this substantial margin is if there was some kind of extraordinary failure with voting machines in Wisconsin and Michigan. Let’s say the votes are recounted and Wisconsin and Michigan somehow turn blue. Together, these two states make up 26 of the electoral votes. After doing the math and hypothetically giving these electoral votes to Clinton, Donald Trump would still be left at 280 votes and Clinton at 258, still not allowing her to reach the necessary 270 to win.

My hope is that people who have protested the result will understand why a peaceful transfer of power is so important, and why we should be supportive of our president-elect. I say that if every anti-Trump American modifies their result protesting, we will conserve order in our democracy and positive change may come in the following years. Yes, this man is hateful, but he is still our next president.